Change of exam dates: Students turn up at Mumbai University in their hundreds to check if news is true

Several students reached their exam centres on Friday morning to double check whether the news that the exam scheduled for the day had been postponed.
The Mumbai University had announced only on Thursday that the exams scheduled for March 28 and April 1 had been put off as teachers and other college staff had been assigned poll-related duties on these days. The news had filtered down to the students only by evening, and hence the apprehension on their part.
The university cancelled 126 papers scheduled for March 28 and April 1 after its request to exempt its staff from election duty failed to generate any response till Thursday.
Over 100 students turned up at National College, Bandra on Friday morning. "As the decision was taken at the last minute, all students could not be informed. Over 100 of them turned up in the morning and we had to tell them the exam had been postponed," said Dinesh Punjwani, principal of the college.
Similar was the case at other colleges too. "Many students had come. They had read the news in newspapers, but wanted to cross check, perhaps. We had anticipated this, and hence told the watchmen and staff to inform students about the postponement," said Ashok Wadia, principal, Jai Hind College, Churchgate.
Colleges like Dhanukar, Ruia and KC also faced a similar situation.
Teachers of a few colleges had sent out text messages to students informing them of the change. "We received the information (of postponement) at 5pm on Thursday. We put it up on the notice board and teachers also messaged students. The message spread fast among our students and we did not have the problem of students turning up in the morning," said Harsha Mehta, principal, SIES College, Sion.
 

New dates
All exams that were scheduled for March 28 will now be held on April 5; and those scheduled for April 1 will be conducted on April 12. A varsity circular said the venue and timing would remain the same.